The present invention relates to a system and method for installing wall mounted spouts, such as shower heads and tub spouts, and, more particularly, to such a system in which a specialized adapter is slid over a protruding length of 1 inch (⅝xe2x80x3 O.D.) xe2x80x9cnominalxe2x80x9d water supply tubing or stub out which extends out of a finished wall for connection of a tub or shower spout or the like thereto. The adapter includes an integral molded ferrule and a female threaded receiver sized to permit the adapter to be slid over the stub out with a slight friction fit between the ferrule and the stub out. The threaded receiver is also sized to receive a threaded nipple of a spout water supply tube, such as a brass shower arm, such that threading the nipple of the spout water supply tube into the female threaded receiver of the adapter urges or presses the ferrule against the stub out creating a compression seal thereagainst. The adapter permits easy installation of a tub or shower spout or the like to the water supply with all of the threaded connections being accessible outside of the wall. For a more positive seal, an optional O-ring, which seals against the stub out, and an integral one way gripper ring, which prevents the adapter from being blown off or pulled off of the stub out, can be added to the adapter.
Shower installations have traditionally been accomplished by extending a vertical pipe or tube upward from a shower tap to shower height where it is connected to a drop ear 90 degree elbow fitting with xc2xd inch female N.P.T. (xe2x80x9cNational Pipe Threadxe2x80x9d) threads which faces toward the shower room ready to receive a male threaded shower arm in the final stage of construction, connecting the elbow to a shower head. The elbow is nailed or screwed securely to a plate positioned within a stud wall which will be closed off with the finished wall. A length of threaded test pipe is then threaded into the elbow. The material used for the test pipe is often the most inexpensive, such as uncoated, black steel pipe. Test pipes made of such material are commonly discarded after one use. Uncoated pipe can rust, which causes further problems, as detailed below. The test pipe is then capped and the system is pressure tested. After the plumbing system is pressure tested, a finish wall covering material, such as wallboard, is applied with a hole cut to accommodate the test pipe and the wall is finished with tile, paint, wall paper, etc. Once the pressure test is complete and the finished wall is in place, the test pipe is removed and a shower arm (i.e. commonly a 6xe2x80x3 to 8xe2x80x3 length of pipe threaded xc2xdxe2x80x3 N.P.T. at both ends and bent roughly 45 degrees in the middle) is installed by threading it into the 90 degree elbow which is now hidden inside of the finished wall. It is important that the joint between the shower arm and the supply line does not leak yet the joint cannot be readily tested without cutting into the wall. An escutcheon plate is slid over the shower arm to cover the hole through which the shower arm extends. A shower head can then be installed onto the shower arm.
Tub spout installations are typically accomplished using one of two standard methods. The first is similar to the above-mentioned traditional method for shower head installation where a drop of 90 degree elbow fitting is securely fastened behind the finished wall at the precise level for the tub spout connection. Black iron test nipples are stubbed out, then extracted and a precise length of a supply line with male threaded nipples on each end is installed blindly onto the elbow fitting enclosed in the finished wall. The tub spout is then threaded directly onto the open end of the supply line. In another, more recently developed tub spout installation method, copper or other rigid tubing (⅝xe2x80x3 O.D.) is stubbed out of the wall and specially designed and compression type tub spouts, which are expensive, are slid over the tube and secured by means of an integral clamp or set screw built into the spout""s housing.
The traditional shower installation method presents a number of potential problems. The drop-ear elbows are fairly expensive and, often, will be inadequately secured to the plate behind the wall. As the threaded test pipe must be extracted and a threaded shower arm be reinstalled into the elbow, the elbow undergoes several occurrences of significant leverage and torque. First, the threads of the test pipe often become seized or rusted after a water pressure test is performed, causing excessive stress on the mounting anchors of the elbow as the test pipe is unthreaded. Secondly, additional stress is applied to the anchors of the elbow as the shower arm is often over tightened in order to orient it in an exact downward direction on the finished or shower head end. It, therefore, becomes extremely important to secure the elbow as solidly as possible. Craftsmen often go to great length to assure the solid security of the elbow, using one or more wood or metal brackets and braces and screws and nails of significant quantity and size. If the elbow is improperly secured, a variety of problems can ensue, ranging from misalignment of the female threads relative to the hole in the wall, making the shower arm installation difficult or impossible, or kinking and possibly severing the supply pipe. Even when the 90 degree elbow is properly installed and properly located behind the hole, the test pipe may have been cross threaded or over tightened into the elbow, thus damaging the female threads of the elbow. The test pipe may then pass the pressure test, but, when it is removed and the shower arm installed into the damaged threads of the elbow, a slow leak can result. Since the elbow is totally hidden within the wall, the leak can continue for years without being detected, often causing rot and mildew to occur within the wall and/or in the wall bottom plate, with consequent odor and hidden damage. Also, as there may be rusty, residual water in the test pipe, it may spill onto finished tub/shower surfaces when the test pipe is extracted, permanently staining such surfaces and only remedied by total replacement, with the attendant labor and material expense and delays. Also, since the shower arm must be positioned at a predetermined orientation to accommodate the shower head, it must be threaded into the elbow until it reaches that orientation. This can result in under tightening or over tightening of the arm to achieve that orientation, which can also result in leaks. Finally, after a shower arm has been in place for a number of years, it may corrode behind the finished wall and leak or even break off, leaving a threaded portion in the elbow. Repair of any of these problems necessitates cutting into the finished wall either on the shower side or from behind the shower wall, with the attendant labor, expense and down time associated therewith.
It is clear, then, that a need exists for a more convenient, efficient and cost effective system and method of installing shower heads and tub spouts. Such a system and method should avoid the above listed problems of the prior art by eliminating threaded elbows within the shower wall so that the supply piping is stubbed through the wall once, never having to be removed through all stages of testing, wall surface installation and finishing and finished plumbing fixture and trim installation, so that repairs or finish trim changes can be effected outside the finished wall material.
The present invention is directed to a system and method for installing wall mounted spouts including shower heads and tub spouts. A length of supply pipe or tubing is installed from a shower/tub tap up to and through a wall at shower height and/or down and through the wall at the tub spout location. The supply tubing terminates in a length of xc2xd inch nominal (⅝xe2x80x3 O.D.) tubing or stub out protruding out of the wall (the protruding portion is hereafter referred to as the stub out). The supply pipe or tubing leading to the stub out can be a single continuous length or multiple pieces including straight runs, preformed tubing stub out elbows, sweated elbows, etc., as long as it terminates in a xc2xdxe2x80x3 nominal (⅝xe2x80x3 O.D.) stub out protruding outward from the wall. The tubing including the stub out can be copper, brass or stainless steel tube or one of a variety of, plastic tubing including, e.g. CPVC (Chlorinated Poly Vinyl Chloride), PEX (cross-linked Polyethylene) or PEX-AL:-PEX (cross-linked Polyethylene sandwiched around aluminum) or a combination of materials. The stub out is preferably strapped into position at shower height or the tub spout location via a simple two hole strap or the like. The wall surface is installed and finished around the protruding tubing stub out and, after which, pressure tests are then run on the plumbing system. The stub out may terminate in a spun closed xe2x80x9cbulletxe2x80x9d, as is illustrated herein, or it can be open tubing which is terminated by any type of closure, or it can even be left open if no pressure test is required. A specialized adapter is then slid onto the protruding stub out until the adapter abuts the wall. The adapter is preferably made of molded plastic, which can include an integral metal one-way gripper ring which is configured to allow the adapter to be slid over the stub out but not retracted off of it. The adapter can also include an O-ring held in position by the gripper ring which provides a tight seal against the stub out. Both the gripper ring and the O-ring are held in position within the adapter via a retaining flange which is heat and pressure treated to conform it to a retaining position. The adapter has a xc2xdxe2x80x3 I.P.S. (xe2x80x9cIron Pipe Sizexe2x80x9d) front opening with female threads forming a threaded receiver sized to accommodate a standard xc2xd inch I.P.S. shower arm or a special nipple having male threads at each end. The adapter further includes an integral ferrule within the threaded receiver which compression seals a shower arm or nipple as it is threaded into the adapter. Once the adapter is pushed into position against the wall, it holds the stub out securely into position and prevents the stub out from being pushed backward into the wall. The in-wall bracketing prevents any forward movement of the stub out. Another method of preventing forward movement of the stub out is to utilize existing stub out fittings with built-in, integral support flange which is precisely located for use with tub spout stub outs to be flush with the inside of the finished wall. This flange member then abuts the inside of the finished wall and is utilized in combination with the inventive adapter to xe2x80x9csandwichxe2x80x9d the finished wall using the one-way gripper ring on the inventive adapter to lock the inventive adapter in place preventing backward and forward movement of the stub out. Any excess length of the stub out extending beyond the adapter into the shower room can then be cut off just past the end of the adapter.
Due to the thin wall construction of a standard xc2xdxe2x80x3 I.P.S. brass shower arm, the stub out can be received within such a shower arm. Similarly, in the tub spout application, the nipple has an internal dimension large enough to receive the xc2xdxe2x80x3 nominal tubing. The nipple generally must be specially made because the internal dimension of standard nipples is not large enough to receive xc2xdxe2x80x3 nominal tubing. The shower arm or nipple is thus placed over the remainder of the stub out and threaded into the adapter, placing it in a sealing position between the threaded receiver and the integral ferrule. The adapter can be rotated about the stub out to allow the shower arm or a tub spout connected to the nipple to be positioned at the desired orientation. The adapter includes a housing with a base flange which includes radially extending fingers which are flexible and discontinuous, allowing weep holes for moisture to escape and also allowing an escutcheon plate to be slid onto the shower arm and snapped onto the base flange fingers to cover the adapter and hole. The base flange also securely retains the escutcheon plate in place, preventing it from rattling loose and away from the finished wall. A shower head can then be installed onto the shower arm to complete the installation of the shower head. In the tub spout application, a tub spout can be secured to the nipple, without an escutcheon plate, because the rear opening of the tub spout is wider than and completely encloses the adapter.
The principal objects of the present invention include: providing an improved installation system and method for shower heads and tub spouts; providing such a system and method which leaves all threaded connections exposed outside of a finished wall; providing such a system and method which minimizes hidden leaks and saves installation time and materials; providing such a system and method which makes repairs significantly easier; providing such a system and method which allows a shower arm or tub spout to be easily installed at the correct orientation without the need to apply excessive amounts of force on the system; providing such a system and method which allows ready access to all threaded connection points outside of a finished wall surface; and providing such a system and method which is particularly well adapted for its intended purpose.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention.
The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.